mike@mikelilley.com

This Day in History

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In 1939, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland. In 1976, America’s Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the planet’s first close-up, color photos. In 1978, Pope John Paul II was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. … Read more

Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019

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H.R. 3884 – This bill decriminalizes marijuana.

Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.

The bill also makes other changes, including the following:

  • replaces statutory references to marijuana and marijuana with cannabis,
  • requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees,
  • establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs,
  • imposes a 5% tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund,
  • makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers,
  • prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions,
  • prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction), and
  • establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses.

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The Unlikely Kennedy Who Ended the Kennedy Dynasty

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Rep. Joe Kennedy III speaks outside his campaign headquarters in Watertown, Mass., after conceding defeat to Sen. Ed Markey in the Massachusetts Democratic Senate primary. | AP Photo/Charles Krupa

For most of the 60-year history of the Kennedy dynasty, it’s been easier to imagine its last act as coming in a burst of triumph, a spasm of violence or a dream-shall-never-die promise of enduring hope. On Tuesday, however, what might be the final note of this political symphony was written not in glory or tragedy, but in numbers, the sad prose of politics.

Sen. Ed Markey 55.6 percent, U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III 44.4 percent.

In a Democratic primary. In Massachusetts.

The 74-year-old Markey, who was first elected to the House in 1972, was supposed to be the type of proud, uncharismatic incumbent whom Kennedys routinely dispatch to retirement homes or ambassadorships. Joe Kennedy’s grandfather, Robert, famously ended the 18-year political career of New York Sen. Kenneth Keating, a 64-year-old Rockefeller Republican, without even moving to the state until shortly before the election. In a 1962 debate, Massachusetts Attorney General Edward J. “Eddie” McCormack Jr. told political neophyte Edward Moore Kennedy that if his name had been Edward Moore, his Senate candidacy “would be a joke.” The joke, of course, was on Eddie McCormack, who lost the Democratic primary, 69-30.

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Mike’s Sloppy Joe’s

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Homemade sloppy joes are incredibly easy to make and come together in one skillet in about 20 minutes or so.  Browned beef is mixed with onion and green pepper and simmered in a sweetened tomato sauce.  The secret is in finding the right seasoning for the sauce!

I grew up eating sloppy joes. My mother was a school teacher, so mid week dinners were quick and simple. And while I’m at it, sloppy joes in our house were actually browned ground beef smothered in Manwich sauce. Not very creative, but at the time it was a staple that I loved as a kid.

What is the difference between Manwich and Sloppy Joe? Technically Manwich is a pre-made sauce that’s used to make sloppy joes.  I am not sure exactly what’s in it, and have never tried it myself, so I can’t say that my recipe tastes similar or not.  Manwich is marketed as a easy way to make sloppy joes… but in reality, homemade sloppy joes are just as easy to make!

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Amazon wins FAA approval for Prime Air drone delivery fleet

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Amazon.com is testing out the viability of drone delivery for small packages.

Amazon received federal approval to operate its fleet of Prime Air delivery drones, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday, a milestone that allows the company to expand unmanned package delivery.

The approval will give Amazon broad privileges to “safely and efficiently deliver packages to customers,” the agency said. The certification comes under Part 135 of FAA regulations, which gives Amazon the ability to carry property on small drones “beyond the visual line of sight” of the operator.

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Hiring hurdles

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7 of the most irritating things job seekers wish companies would change about the process.

Most companies view the hiring process solely from their perspective. Applications, interviews, job offers — everything is designed to make hiring the perfect candidate easy for them. Smart business owners also view the hiring process from the applicant’s side. They realize an employee’s experience starts the day she applies, not her first day on the job. When I asked 1 million-plus LinkedIn followers to share the one thing they wish companies, hiring managers and interviewers would stop doing during the hiring process, I received a flood of responses. 

1. Failing to include the pay range.

“Not sharing expected salary ranges in the posting causes a huge amount of unnecessary work; all those candidates who require much higher compensation levels blindly waste their time crafting resumes and cover letters to get to the top of the pile … only to find out the position pays 30% less than they currently make.”

Businesses may be tempted to withhold the pay range, at least at first, in order to cast as wide a net as possible. But no matter how rewarding, fulfilling, meaningful and exciting the work, salary still matters. 

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SAOCOM 1B Mission

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SpaceX is targeting Sunday, August 30 at 7:18 p.m. EDT, or 23:18 UTC, for Falcon 9’s launch of the SAOCOM 1B mission, which will carry the SAOCOM 1B spacecraft to orbit in addition to two rideshare payloads, Tyvak-0172 and PlanetiQ’s GNOMES-1. The mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral … Read more